Iain Duncan Smith announces that migrants whose grasp of English is so poor
that they will struggle to find work could be denied benefits

Migrants whose English is judged to be so poor that they would struggle to find work in Britain could be denied benefits, Iain Duncan Smith has announced.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said the Government was overhauling the test that enables migrants to claim benefits to prevent them from taking advantage of the welfare system.

The revamp addresses growing public concern that hundreds of thousands of immigrants could come to Britain next month when restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians are lifted.

However, the change is likely to bring Britain into further conflict with the European Commission, which is already suing Britain for requiring European Union immigrants to pass a test it claims is unlawful before they can claim benefits.

Mr Duncan Smith said that the move was both legal and necessary to protect Britain from “benefit tourists”.

He said: “It is vitally important that we have strict rules in place to protect the integrity of our benefits system.

“The British public are rightly concerned that migrants should contribute to this country, and not be drawn here by the attractiveness of our benefits system. We are taking action to ensure this is not the case.

The Government is changing the “habitual residence test”, which was introduced in 1994 to protect the benefits system from abuse by migrants with no ties to Britain and “no intention to settle”.

Mr Duncan Smith said: “The roll-out of the new habitual residence test is the first in a series of measures to ensure that we have a fair system; one which provides support for genuine workers and jobseekers, but does not allow people to come to our country and take advantage.

“It is a crucial part of our long-term plan to secure Britain’s economy.”

Under the tougher tests, which will be introduced in all Jobcentres by the end of next week, migrants will be required to answer more questions and submit more detailed evidence before they can claim benefits.

For the first time, officials will be able to ask them whether their language skills make it less likely that they would get a job in Britain.

Migrants will also be asked to demonstrate that they have attempted to find a job before they arrived in this country.

Staff conducting the interviews will be able to draw from a bank of more than 200 questions, twice as many as were previously available.

They will then decide whether the individual qualifies for benefits.

The Conservatives are aware that their success in deterring “benefit tourists” will be critical to their election hopes. The Prime Minister has led calls for the reforms after pressure from his Eurosceptic backbenchers.

The UK Independence Party, which is surging in opinion polls, is hoping to capitalise on the public concern about immigrants.

The change is likely to be challenged by the European Commission, which is already taking Britain to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in a case over the existing test.

A European Commission official said: “The EU has harmonised criteria for the habitual residency test which were agreed by all countries, including the UK.

“The purpose of the habitual residency test is determining where a person’s centre of interest is located, which has nothing to do with language.”

An EU diplomat said Mr Duncan Smith would need some “good lawyers”.

The diplomat said: “It seems the Government wants to step up the fight. I hope Mr Duncan Smith has good lawyers or Britain could be paying some big fines.

“Discriminating against people on the basis of language would be illegal.

“Would Britain be happy if pensioners in Spain or expatriates in France where asked to complete a language test before accessing the services to which they are entitled?”

However, Mr Duncan Smith insisted that the habitual residence test is in line with European law and said he will continue to fight the court action.

He said: “The European Commission are trying to take us to court over the test, claiming that it is discriminatory to check whether migrants have a legal right to reside in the UK.

“I fundamentally disagree and intend to fight the court action — believing that the test is not only legal, but vital in order to protect the British benefits system from abuse.”

Under other Government plans, migrants from the European Economic Area will be unable to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance unless they have been resident in the UK for three months.

They will also be able to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance for six months only, unless they can prove they are actively looking for a job and have a genuine prospect of employment.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, more than 370,000 non-UK nationals have registered for national insurance numbers and are thought to be claiming benefits. The number has risen by more than a third since 2008.

The majority of them are thought to be claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, worth £56.80 a week to those under 25 and £71.80 to anyone older.